Best YELLOW dye for bone?

[afishhunter]

What is the best yellow dye for bone, without taking the knife apart to dye the covers, potentially staining the carbon steel blades?
Should I get an alcohol based dye, and apply it with cotton swabs?

"Bonus" Question:
Is dying the covers of a GEC a "bad" idea?
Affecting the value/"collectability" does not matter to me. However, unless I "take it with me" when I get planted (an old family tradition, on both maternal and paternal sides) it might matter to my heir.

I "think" the '24 BF stockman would look even better with lemon yellow covers.

Thanks in advance.

 

[SharpBits]

Should I get an alcohol based dye, and apply it with cotton swabs?

That's my plan with Chestnut leather dye. I haven't done it yet, but I have read of several successful projects being done that way. I'm going to tape off the blades and bolsters.

 

[BP_]

I used Fiebings (chocolate color) on mine. It did not stain the blades or bolsters, but soaked into the covers fairly decent.

I have not cleaned it up at all yet, just pulled it out of the dye and wiped it off with a little rubbing alcohol so I could see how it turned out. I’ll go through it thoroughly and clean it up real good, oil it, and polish everything up real well. Here is a pic I snapped when I pulled it out of the dye, so you can see how it took to the scales:

 

[SharpBits]

I used Fiebings (chocolate color) on mine. It did not stain the blades or bolsters, but soaked into the covers fairly decent.

I have not cleaned it up at all yet, just pulled it out of the dye and wiped it off with a little rubbing alcohol so I could see how it turned out. I’ll go through it thoroughly and clean it up real good, oil it, and polish everything up real well. Here is a pic I snapped when I pulled it out of the dye, so you can see how it took to the scales:

View attachment 2768356

Please keep us updated on this project. Yours is the first one I've seen dyed.

 

[BP_]

Please keep us updated on this project. Yours is the first one I've seen dyed.

Will do. I’ve got to do some cleaning and polishing, but from what I can tell it should come out fairly well. I’m curious to see how well the dye ends up sticking. Updates to come.

 

[hughd]

Did you use the Fiebing's Pro Dye or Leather Dye?

 

[BP_]

Did you use the Fiebing's Pro Dye or Leather Dye?

I used the Pro Dye on this one

 

[Bill DeShivs]

I don't know what color bone is on your knife. If it's white or very light colored, you can dye it.
If the bone is dark- you can't dye anything a lighter color.

 

[afishhunter]

I don't know what color bone is on your knife. If it's white or very light colored, you can dye it.
If the bone is dark- you can't dye anything a lighter color.

lighter in person.

It may not be an even yellow, like synthetic covers if I do it, but it should look o.k.
If necessary, would hydrogen peroxide remove the existing dye? I know better than to try bleach.

 

[Bill DeShivs]

Hydrogen peroxide IS bleach.
I would soak it in acetone for a few hours and see what happens. It may leach some of the color out.

 

[SharpBits]

Hydrogen peroxide is NOT bleach. Bleach is usually sodium hypochlorite. Not the same at all, despite sharing the color removing aspect on certain materials.

 

[Bill DeShivs]

Hydrogen peroxide is NOT bleach. Bleach is usually sodium hypochlorite. Not the same at all, despite sharing the color removing aspect on certain materials.

Just a tiny bit of Googling will show you how wrong you are.

 

[SharpBits]

Just a tiny bit of Googling will show you how wrong you are.

Yes, you are correct in that both are bleaching agents. But there is strong difference in the safety of either one found in grocery stores. The one marked as "Bleach" in the supermarket is not going to be hydrogen peroxide like in the bottles of hydrogen peroxide you get in the pharmacy. You can rinse your mouth out with commonly available hydrogen peroxide safely. When the average person talks about bleach, they mean the kind made of sodium hypochlorite. Again, they are not the same.

So, yes you are technically correct (the best kind) that both are bleaching chemicals and are a type of bleach.